One of the rarest events in bridge is known as the "double game swing", a deal on which one team in a match makes a game at both tables on the same deal. Rarer still is the double doubled game swing, where both contracts are doubled and made. But that was not the rarest thing that happened on today's deal from the final of the Bermuda Bowl. North-South vulnerable, dealer West.

Bridge deal October 15 Photograph: guardian.co.uk

When the US held North-South, the bidding was of course, given the participants, aggressive.

Bridge deal 18 Oct Photograph: guardian.co.uk

It's not easy to fault Lauria for doubling Meckstroth in five spades; East had two aces and his partner had opened the bidding. He made neither of his aces, of course, and despite a combined 17 points between the two hands, Meckstroth easily took 12 tricks for a score of 1,050 to the US. At the other table, the bidding was more sedate:

Bridge bid 2 oct 15 Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Expecting Sementa to have some defensive values in clubs for his two-level overcall, Duboin was reluctant to go to the five level in spades on his own. Sementa did well to lead a club but, after ruffing, South cashed the king of spades before switching belatedly to a diamond. All I had to do now was win with the ace, ruff a spade in dummy, and run the heart suit. On the last trump North, with the king of diamonds and the jack, 10 and 7 of clubs remaining in front of dummy's jack of diamonds and ace, 8 and 6 of clubs, was squeezed in the minor suits and I made the contract for a further 650 to the US. Double doubled game swings are rare, but they are not nearly as rare as mistakes by Giorgio Duboin.